We returned to the Brysons’ lab, both still jet-lagged from our whirlwind trip. Juliet led us into the conference room, where we were surprised to see that Markowitz and Bergfeld had not left Boston after all.
“I had to hear the rest of the story,” he said. “How was your trip?”
As Lavon and I explained what we had found in Israel, each of us struggled to come up with an alternative that fit the facts as we knew them. No one succeeded.
We could see, too, that Juliet had something else on her mind. Her face reflected a strange sense of peace, serenity almost, that didn’t square with her husband’s demise. I made the mistake of commenting on this.
“I’ve thought of little else since you left,” she said. “I came up with a plan, one that should require only a simple adjustment to the transport apparatus.”
“What kind of plan?” I asked.
“We can still save Henry, Mr. Culloden. Now that we have the precise coordinates of his whereabouts, a rescue should be straightforward.”
“But that means someone else will have to — ” Lavon cut himself short.
“Yes, Robert, and I am thankful that we have a person in this room so uniquely qualified for the task.”
I would have expected Lavon to jump at the chance, but to my surprise, his first impulse ran against the idea.
“He could have died somewhere else,” he protested. “There’s no guarantee anyone would find him alive in that cave.”
“No,” she replied, “but do you think a perfect stranger would have carried his body very far, in that climate?”
Lavon shook his head.
“And you told me yourself that his bones showed no signs of gross physical abuse. Did you mean that, or were you just trying to avoid causing me any more sorrow?”
“No, I meant it. The lab in Tel Aviv analyzed the skeleton with great care, given the discrepancies we found. I think it’s safe to assume he wasn’t executed, nor was he torn to pieces by a mob, or by wild animals.”
“Well, then, it should still be possible to save him.”
“Or leave two skeletons in that cave instead of one,” Lavon grumbled. “Your husband could have died from dozens of other causes that would have left no impact on his bone structure.”
The rest of us watched without saying a word.
“Robert, I implore you: you’re the only one who really understands that world. You’re the only one who speaks the language.”
“I read ancient Greek,” he said. “There’s a difference. Plus, not everyone in that area spoke Greek. If I encountered the wrong people, I’d be more likely to get a knife in my gut than directions to Jerusalem. In fact, that may have been what happened to your husband.”
“But you know he wasn’t robbed,” she replied. “You found a bag of Roman coins by his bones, did you not?”
Lavon nodded. The cache amounted to three months pay for a typical unskilled laborer. No brigand would have left that behind.
“I’m not too proud to get down on my knees and beg if I must.”
Lavon sat in silence for another minute or so. Finally, he sighed. “There’s no need to beg,” he said.
“Just think of the knowledge you’ll gain from just a short visit.”
“I said I’d do it,” he snapped.
***
The rest of us heard the words, but like so much of what we had seen over the last few days, their meaning failed to register immediately.
“You’re serious about this?” Markowitz finally asked. “Someone else can really go back?”
“Yes,” said Bryson. “It will involve an element of danger, but the odds of success are high enough to justify the risk.”
Markowitz pondered this for another moment; then his face lit up.
“Fantastic!” he said. “I want to go, too.”
Lavon shook his head, as did Bryson. This was a bad idea.
“Ray, I’ve never heard you express any interest in the Biblical era,” I said.
“No.” he admitted. “But what an adventure this could be.”
“This will be incredibly hazardous,” said Lavon. “I don’t think you have the slightest comprehension of the dangers we’re likely to encounter.”
“I can handle it,” said Markowitz. “Climbing K2, that was hazardous. Diving the Andrea Doria — people die doing that every year, too. We have to have confidence in ourselves. If we listened to the naysayers, we’d be afraid to walk out the front door.”
“Ray, that may be true,” I said, “but this enterprise has already lost one man. You’ve seen the photos of the skeleton. You saw Dr. Bryson’s finger sitting right here on this table, in a jar.”
“Yes, I did. And we’re going to get him. Actually, we have a golden opportunity not only to save Dr. Bryson, but also to complete his original plan. While you were gone, Juliet told us why he was there; the question he sought to answer.”
I was afraid of that.
“No, we are not going anywhere,” said Lavon. I am going to retrieve Dr. Bryson and come straight back. The risk is too high to attempt anything else.”
“You exaggerate,” said Markowitz. “I’m sure he just ran into a freak infection or something. Don’t those stories about the Black Death all say that the victims died within the hour?”
Lavon sighed.
“Ray, tell me: would you go to Iraq today, as a tourist? It would be a fascinating trip. Some of the greatest archaeological treasures on the planet are there: Babylon, Nineveh, the seats of ancient empires, most never completely explored.”
“No,” said Markowitz. “I’d probably get blown up.”
“And why is that?”
“Religious fanatics — nut-jobs who think killing an American is God’s will.”
“I’m going to give it to you straight,” replied Lavon. “By the time of Christ, ancient Judea had suffered through nearly two centuries of very similar religious and political strife. Two hundred years of constant low level guerilla violence — not to mention the regular depredations of ordinary thieves and highway robbers.”
Markowitz paused for a moment, but then his expression grew firm. “It’s not like we’re planning to stay long. Whatever happens, we’ll deal with it.
He glanced over to Juliet. “My family’s money made your initial work possible. I don’t mean to be obstinate, but either I go or I’ll shut this place down.”
Bryson didn’t speak, but she finally nodded her assent. After all, he had the ability to do just that.
“Then I’m going, too,” said Sharon. “I’ve studied the Bible my entire life. There’s simply no way I can pass up the opportunity to see what it describes for real.”
“No!” said Lavon.
Though his forcefulness surprised me, I agreed with Lavon’s thinking. However intelligent and capable she might be, Sharon didn’t strike me as a person who had ever experienced anything going completely and horribly wrong.
I could imagine many things happening to such a woman in the first century — none of them good.
“You can’t tell me what to do,” she said. “My family has provided ninety percent of your funding for the last three years.”
“I’m not saying you can’t go,” said Lavon. “I’m saying you shouldn’t. It’s simply too dangerous.”
Like my client’s son, though, logic could not dissuade her.
They bickered for several minutes before the archaeologist shook his head and let out an exasperated sigh.
He glanced over to me, looking for support, but this time he found none. I’ll admit it; while the others argued, I caught the bug, too. Markowitz was right: Whatever happened, we’d figure out a way to deal with it.
Finally, Lavon recognized the inevitable and admitted defeat.
“All right,” he said. “I need to round up some provisions. We’ll meet back here in a few days after you’ve all had a chance to get your affairs in order.”
Like Markowitz and Bergfeld, I neglected to consider the usual meaning of that phrase.